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'Abd al-Rashid Ibrahim's Biographical Dictionary on Siberian Islamic Scholars

Bustanov, A.K.

Publication date2014Document VersionFinal published versionPublished inКазанское исламоведение = Kazan Islamic Review

Link to publication

Citation for published version (APA):Bustanov, A. K. (2014). 'Abd al-Rashid Ibrahim's Biographical Dictionary on Siberian IslamicScholars. Казанское исламоведение = Kazan Islamic Review, 1, 10-78.

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Alfrid K. Bustanov,Ph.D., TAIF’ Professor of the history of Islamic peoples

of Russia at European University in St. Petersburg,

a librarian at the Oriental sector of the Branch of Manuscripts

and Rear Books of the Scientific Library of Kazan’ Federal University

(Kazan’, Russia).E-mail: [email protected]

‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm’s Biographical Dictionary on Siberian Islamic Scholars*

Summary: This article is a publication of facsimiles and annotated English translations of two versions of a biographical dictionary of Siberian Islamic scholars. The work written by ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm deserves serious attention from scholars because it opens up a world of intellectual life among the Muslims in Western Siberia almost unknown so far. The sources provides us information on local scholars who lived between the 18th and late 19th centuries, their interests, education, networks and theological debates. All of this allows us to claim that an elaborated Islamic discourse existed at that time in Siberia.

Key words: ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm, biographies of Islamic scholars, Islamic discourse, Islam in Siberia, Islam in Russia, Siberian Tatars, the Tatar manuscript culture, Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn.

The heterogeneous milieu of the pre-revolutionary Islamic elite in Western Siberia, biographies of scholars, their writings on different topics, their inter-regional networks and their role in establishing local religious institutions

are poorly known in modern scholarship. The goal of this article is to publish two previously unknown texts which shed new light on the intellectual life of Muslim communities in Siberia between the late eighteenth and early twentieth century. My argument here is that an elaborate Islamic discourse existed in the region which was strongly interconnected with the legal and theological debates idiosyncratic to the Volga-Ural region, Central Asia, and Daghestan.

* | I would like to thank James Pickett (Princeton University) for reading a draft of my article. This research has been supported by the Russian State Foundation for Humanities (РГНФ, project no. 13–31–01011) and the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research (РФФИ, project no. 13–06–97069p_поволжье_а).

11Alfrid K. Bustanov | ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm’s Biographical Dictionary on Siberian Islamic...

Two texts analyzed in the present article are in fact drafts of the same work written by the famous traveler ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm (1857–1944) and entitled Sibiriyada zaman sabaqta wa hazïrda bulunmuš ‘ulamalar (Siberian Scholars in Past and Present). In what follows I will offer a short description of the work and a discussion of its contents.

Description of the manuscripts

This particular biographical dictionary of Siberian Islamic scholars survived in two copies. Both of them originate from the archive of the prominent Tatar scholar Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn (1859–1936). Since the late nineteenth century Riḍā al-Dīn had been collecting historical sources on famous and prominent Islamic figures of the Russian Empire and later published two volumes of his biographical dictionary Athār (the third and fourth volumes remained in the manuscript form and were published only recently [12]). Riḍā al-Dīn disseminated letters to prominent intellectuals of his time requesting memoirs, biographical accounts, and other narratives on local Islamic history. These collected texts underwent a critical selection and linguistic modification, which means that not all of the collected sources were published in Athār in their entirety and their language was ‘corrected’ in accordance with Riḍā al-Dīn’s understanding of the Tatar literary language. Fortunately, many original texts sent to Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn survived in his private archive, two parts of which today are located in St. Petersburg and Ufa.

The earlier copy of the biographical dictionary is preserved at the Scientific Archive of Ufa in the Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences [1]. The copy is bound with other manuscripts in a huge volume (560 folios). Late 19th century Russian paper was used. Two separate paginations are visible on the folios: one done by Ibrāhīm and another by Fakhr al-Dīn. Black ink is used; the style of handwriting is ta‘liq and belongs to the hand of ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm. The number of lines on each page varies significantly. The earlier copy bears only two comments by Riḍā al-Dīn, one of which clarifies that “the notes on these ten pages belong to the pen of ‘Abd ar-Rashīd qāḍī Ibrāhīm” [1, f. 17b].

The second and larger copy of ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm’s biographical dictionary is stored at the Archive of the Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) [2]. The manuscript appears to be a small notebook with the Russian pagination made by pen at the archive. The number of lines varies greatly. Much free space was left between the blocks of text devoted to individual scholars so that the author could add new information. The text is written in black pen, the style of handwriting is ta‘liq and belongs to the hand of ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm. The Russian paper is dated to the late 19th century. The left bottom part of page 5a bears a stamp reading “Uspenskoi fabriki №6”. In front of many biographical blocks Riḍā ad-Dīn b. Fakhr ad-Dīn wrote the word yazıldı, meaning written, i.e. used for his own work in Athār. Sometimes he also shortly commented on the text [2, f. 8b–9a]. Most probably this version of the dictionary was finished in 1894–95 because there are no later dates in the text.

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The language of both versions is Ottoman Turkic with some Tatar elements. These manuscripts reflect different stages of writing, with some sections remaining unfinished. There is a significant overlapping in both copies, but some important details remained specific to each separate work. Therefore I have rejected the idea of constructing a ‘critical text’ and prefer to publish both versions separately.

Islamic Discourse in Western Siberia

It is certain that ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm meant this collection of biographies as a separate work because it has a title, clear structure with a section on history of Imams in Tara, a list of rural Mullas of the past and present as well as biographies of rich philanthropists who were also well-versed in Islamic sciences. With regard to the structure, it is noteworthy that in the St Petersburg manuscript Ibrāhīm offers the names of Imams in each village that he knows of, trying to also specify the full names and even nick-names of the local intellectuals. Moreover, in conformance with the classical Arabic genre of pious biographies (ṭabaqāt), the author introduces his entries with the formulae “and among them” (“wa minhum”).

The author’s style is rather uneven: next to quite small sections on important scholars whom ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm would have known personally or at least by reputation, he writes long anecdotes which tell us very little about intellectual life in the region. Generally, Ibrāhīm’s attitude towards his compatriots was rather denigrating: he acknowledged the prominent scholars of the past, but in his eyes very few such exemplary intellectuals were still alive in his day.

Ibrāhīm’s sensibilities notwithstanding, between the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries there was a stable circle of Islamic scholars in Siberia who expressed their views on various religious topics. The legacy of legal debates among the Siberian ‘ulama has only just started to be explored, but from already known manuscripts one can clearly understand that Islamic discourse in Siberia was strongly bound with the trends and discussions common throughout the Volga-Ural region, Daghestan and Central Asia. From Ibrāhīm’s dictionary and from some other manuscripts we learn that the fifth daily prayer has always been an issue for local Muslims. Some of the Siberian scholars, namely Muḥammad Niyyāz b. Ḥaydar (Aitikin) [1, f. 15; 2, f. 14b], Shaykh Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ [1, ff. 16–17] and Sabanchī b. Yār Muḥammad [1, f. 14; 2, ff. 11a–12a] presented a legal recommendation (fatwa) from the Madinan Mufti ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sirāğ (d. 1836), in which it was claimed that the fifth prayer should be performed even in the northern lands where days were short [2, f. 11b]2. But the final point in the debate was made only after the local scholars got acquainted with the works of ‘Abd al-Nasīr al-Qurṣāwī (1776–1812) [3, p. 272–307; 4; 5], the Volga-Ural scholar who made the decisive argument that concluded the debate. Another example deals with

2 | The text of that fatwa survived in a collection of spiritual chains and legal documents from Sayid Vakh-idi’s (1887–1938) collection and is preserved at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St Petersburg), MS B2695, ff. 1b–13a.


the precise calculation of the Islamic calendar and with the associated discipline of astronomy. As a result of debates on the astronomical calculations in the city of Tara, the local scholar Dawlat Bāqī b. ‘Alī Asġār (d. 1840) went to Bukhara in order to improve his knowledge of these sciences. By some miracle the astrolabe, which belonged to Dawlat Bāqī and is described in our manuscripts in detail, found its way to local museum in the city of Tobol’sk and still remains there [1, f. 11; 2, f. 3a, see figure 3 attached to this article]3. Other notable legal debates prominent in neighboring regions are curiously absent in Ibrāhīm’s dictionary. For example, he does not mention the discourse on the vocal and silent forms of Sufi litanies (aḏkār), engaged major ritual activity and controversy among local Sufis4, because ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm does not really distinguish between Sufis and those without Sufi affiliation, though he does mention that this or that person was “an Ishan” with no further details offered. From other biographical sources with overlapping coverage we can observe Sufis who served prominent roles in local villages, such as Khwājam Bīrdī Ishān (d. 1855) from the village of Sāwusqān5. This is likely also a result of the fact that in the 1890s, when he compiled his dictionary, Ibrāhīm simply was not involved in this network and therefore fully omitted Sufi aspects of religious life in Siberia.

Among the important details Ibrāhīm did offer were descriptions of private libraries and rare books. For instance, Ibrāhīm lists “an old” copy of Iḥyā’ ‘ulūm al-dīn by al-Ghazālī which was preserved first in the hands of Fayḍ Allāh b. ‘Alī Aṣġar and then moved to the Qarïmšaquf library [1, f. 12; 2, f. 3a]. In all likelihood this masterpiece is now lost. Almost every mentioned scholar had a personal library, but unfortunately very few remnants out of these collections are known us today.

Who is a Scholar?

For ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm, Muslim scholars were required to play a central role in the life of Islamic community and were responsible for its development [9, pp. 281, 284]. How did he define those intellectuals whom he included in the dictionary?

While compiling a list of scholars and gathering information about them from oral and some documentary sources, Ibrāhīm did not cover every person who ever studied at religious schools, wrote something, or collected a library, but wrote only about the persons about whom he managed to gather sufficient information in a short period of time. Some important people are not mentioned at all because their active involvement in the social life started a bit later. For example, the poet Māwlūkāy b. Yūmāchīq (1834–1910) from the village of Yānbāy and the Imam Ḥujjat al-Ḥakīm b. Dawūd from the village of Aubātqān both published quite a lot of works in Kazan’ and Orenburg in the 1910s, but neither was included in Ibrāhīm’s biographical dictionary.

3 | This passage had been analyzed in our article: [6].4 | See the documents and their analysis in my monograph: [7, pp. 77–83, 88–100].5 | See a letter of Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl, a local Imam, to Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn, dated from 1895 [8, f. 111b]. This letter was written as addenda to Ibrāhīm’s dictionary.

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Ḥujjat al-Ḥakīm b. Dawūd closely cooperated with Ibrāhīm, who published the former’s articles in his journal Bayān al-ḥāq6. Surprisingly, Ibrāhīm also fails to provide us with detailed accounts of several scholars with whom he was personally familiar or about whom he knew a great deal. For example, he writes only a short paragraph about Raḥmat Allāh al-Yānġūrāzī (1824–1887), a teacher and Imam of the Tārā mosque, whom Ibrāhīm replaced after Raḥmat Allāh moved to Petropavlovsk7. Even more surprising are very brief notions on Ni‘mat Allāh Qarïmšaquf (1829–1901), a merchant from the village of Yānbāy who supported the local scholarship and established a rich library [2, f. 2a; 7, p. 39–43]. One can only speculate that as far as both survived versions of the dictionary were still the work-in-progress, Ibrāhīm planned to include Qarïmšaquf as well, while his attitude towards al-Yānġūrāzī might have been rather ambivalent: the latter became an enemy of the Aytikins trading family, who actively supported Ibrāhīm at the early stages of his career.

Interestingly, Ibrāhīm distinguishes individuals according to their origin: whether they are the representatives of local tribes (Ayālï and Qurtāq are among mentioned), or members of Central Asian migrants (some of them being descendants of saints with the titles of Khwāja, Shaykh and Sayyīd), or settlers from the Volga-Ural region. Symptomatically, while including Mullas and merchants under the same notion of ‘ulama, Ibrāhīm says nothing about descent groups connected to the particular grave of a saint, who are often represented by Russian ethnographers as ‘local spiritual authorities’ and ‘elite groups’ [10]. One might reply that this omission reflects a clear distinction between more or less official Islamic institutions (mosques, schools, and Sufi lodges) and ‘underground’, unofficial Islam represented by descent groups at the sacred places.

Two points should be clarified here. First, ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm and scholarly circles more generally did not regard shrine keepers as a similarly privileged class: in the eyes of the ‘ulama, the academic credentials of the shrine keeping profession were unimpressive. Learned society united only those who distinguished themselves due to their scientific talents, ‘seeking of knowledge’ (ṭālib al-‘ilm), and long-term study of classical books at the knees of established scholars. Second, the fact that absolutely no sacred place was mentioned by Ibrāhīm suggests that between the eighteenth and early twentieth centuries the veneration of shrines did not play a central role in the religious life of Siberian Muslim communities. Significantly, there is also no discussion about the legitimization of sacred places in the framework of Islamic law; this phenomenon is totally absent in our sources. My hypothesis is that the Soviet transformations of Islamic communities and disappearance of highly educated elite lead to the growing significance of local descent groups and sacred places which became the only spots of communal and individual worship while mosques were closed down. In the context of religious revival in the late 1980s up to the present day, believers employed the mass media and anthropological publications to put sacred places at the core of local Islamic identity and even reconceptualised them in national terms, quite in the Soviet fashion [7, pp. 63–77].

6 | For further information see: [7, pp. 23, 40, 150].7 | For a detailed account on this person: [7, pp. 21–39 (plus facsimile of his work in the appendix)].


It seems that in the 1890s ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm still had a quite romantic understanding of how the real Islamic scholar should comport himself and hence his long anecdotes about scholars and merchants sometimes helps us understand the spirit of that time better. When describing the fate of each scholar, Ibrāhīm offers information on the individual’s lifespan, places of birth, education, travel, and death. ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm also mentions the qualities of scholar’s heirs, often complaining that they were “insignificant” or rather “unfortunate”.

These characteristics mean that as a source on individual biographies Ibrāhīm’s dictionary is not comprehensive. In fact it constitutes a rather sketchy description of Islam in Siberia, though valuable and unique in its own right. Siberian Scholars in Past and Present is an introduction to the Islamic history of Western Siberia, which maps the geography of Siberian Muslim identity, provides a list of main personalities and illustrates the networks of scholars and their debates on religious issues.

In February 2008 and March-April 2009 I had the auspicious opportunity to have a close look at Riḍā al-Dīn’s archive in St. Petersburg and to refine my observations during a joint trip with Igor’ V. Belich to Ufa in November 2008. It is my pleasure to thank our colleagues at the Section of Manuscripts and Documents of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St. Petersburg) as well as Dr. Marsil’ Farkhshatov (Ufa) for providing me with the high resolution copies that are published here.

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Nauchnyi arkhiv Ufimskogo Nauchnogo Tsentra, F. 7. Lichnyi fond uchenogo vostokoveda Rizaetdina Fakhrutdinova. Opis’ 1. Ed. khr. 10 staryi akt. Riza Fekhretdinov. Quliazmalar majmughahe. 10-sı tom (1885–1894), ff. 8–17.

Facsimile

f. 8


f. 9

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f. 10


f. 11

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f. 12


f. 13

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f. 14


f. 15

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f. 16


f. 17

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Translation

/8/ ‘Abd al-Aḥad b. ‘Abd al-Naṣr b. ‘Ābid al-Ālmanī al-Ājkanī8.This person was famous for his brightness. After performing pilgrimage to

Mecca the Honorable in 1866, he met Raḥmat Allāh efendi, one of the famous Indian scholars, and in front of him he carefully read [Raḥmat Allāh’s] treatise entitled Aẓhār al-Ḥāq. [‘Abd al-Aḥad’s] efforts in dissemination [of this work] were not successful until he met students suitable for this job. He had put much effort in everyday lessons, guiding students, and hence [‘Abd al-Aḥad] produced good followers. Many of these students came from Cheliabinsk, Shadrinsk and Ekaterinburg provinces, one of them also from Siberia. [Among his students] we know by names and places of origin more than two hundred Imams and up to twenty five teachers. But they did not live long and therefore could not bring [their learning] to public.

[‘Abd al-Aḥad] taught the following subjects: morphology, syntax, Talkhīṣ, Isāgūjī in addition to Nu‘mān Shamsīya and the text of ‘Aqāid ma‘a Khayālī; Mukhtaṣar Hidāya, Tawḍīḥ ma‘a Talwīḥ from the juridical sciences, Qāḍī Bayḍāwī from commentaries [on the Qur’an]. There were no other subjects [taught]. All of these books were copied by [‘Abd al-Aḥad’s] father ḥaḍrat ‘Abd al-Naṣr, who continued writing until the end of his days. His copy of ‘Ināya was made when ‘Abd al-Naṣr was 93 years old. He used to write in the moon light. In dark nights he wrote with a lamp (chirāgh). Since there were no candles, he used put a bowl with water under the lamp and shook off the top of the wick by his pen to water. I know about this from [a note at] the end of his book. /9/ His handwriting was extremely beautiful. It was similar to the thulth style. ‘Abd an-Naṣr ḥaḍrat studied with Daghestani scholars. His son ‘Abd al-Aḥad obtained his education in Machkara, but did not finish his studies and returned to his father. He reported that he learned most of the [Islamic] sciences from his father. At that time [‘Abd al-Aḥad] was widely known. In the last years of his life he travelled several times to Siberia, where he left a good impression of himself. In 1866 he was fired [from his post of Imam] because he officially registered a marriage of his brother Ḥamīd with an underage girl. When in 1867–68 he was suggested for a position of a licensed (ukaznyi) Imam, he rejected it and continued to give lessons and perform duties of Imam without any license. Even though a parallel Mulla (iptäsh mullasï) Tuḥfat Allāh Anwārūf was jealous, he did not pretend to take ‘Abd al-Aḥad’s position or claim against him, but tried to imitate him. The deceased ‘Abd al-Aḥad ḥaḍrat gave his perfect lessons until the last years and he passed away to the mercy of Allah in 1879, when he was sixy five. He was buried in the village of Alman.

‘Abd al-Aḥad did not have sons. Even though there were many daughters, when ‘Abd al-Aḥad was alive he did not give them his books, because they still were kids. The majority of these books moved to Shihāb al-Dīn b. Husām al-Dīn, the son of his brother and an assistant Imam. Even though the deceased Shihāb al-Dīn was well-educated, he did not use them, and the books remained untouched up to now. There

8 | This section was fully included in Athār. Cf.: [11, pp. 176–177, 349–350; 12, pp. 112, 549].


were very precious books among them. Most of them were manuscripts9. May God’s mercy be upon him!

/10/ Among the students of deceased [‘Abd al-Aḥad] we know the following residents of the Tumān district: Jalāl al-Dīn b. Zayn Allāh from village Muḥammadyār, ‘Izz al-Dīn b. Mullaš from Yānbāy village, Fatḥ Allāh Mulla from the same village, ‘Alī Mulla ‘Usmānūf from Yangī village, his predecessor Sayf Allāh Mulla; in Yāluṭor district: ‘Awwaṣ Bāqī Mulla from Tārkhān village, ‘Abd al-Bāqī Mulla in Iskī village; in Kāinskī district: ‘Alī Akbar akhūnd ‘Abd al-Rashīdūf. In Tara region there were very good students, but all of them did not live long. None of them gave lessons.

/11/ Some of the Famous Siberian Scholars

Dawlat Bāqī b. ‘Alī Aṣġar10 lived in the village of Ūbā known as Bīrnāsh. For several years he performed the duties of Imam in the city of Tara. In the early 1800 he started his education in Bukhara the Noble. The reason of his return from Bukhara was that once he saw in his dream a girl named Zulfiya, a daughter of someone from the mentioned village, and fell in love with her. He confessed in his love, saying that he had seen her in a dream. After he spent two or three years working as an Imam, Dawlat Bāqī participated in some debates about a crescent moon (hilāl). He was defeated by his opponents because of his lack of knowledge in astronomy (‘ilm nuğūm) and astrolabe. In order to learn these sciences he went to Bukhara again. He obtained very good knowledge during these studies, but on the way back he died.

After his death astronomic instruments and related to these sciences books were sent back to his family by inhabitants of the village where he was buried. After all, since there were no [direct] heirs in his family, the books went to the hands of Niyyāz Aytikīn. One of the Niyyāz Ḥājjī’s children, Naṣr ad-Dīn b. Niyyāz transferred a portative astrolabe of the aforesaid Mulla to a museum in Tobol’sk. In size this instrument was like a bottom of a round cup. On the surface of this and some other instruments a blessed verse was placed: “His Thrown comprises the Heavens and Earth“11. It was impossible to read and understand his books, because they were composed of different sorts of tables, numbers, and inscriptions. Nowadays one of his books is in hands of Naṣr ad-Dīn b. Niyyāz.

/12/ Fayḍ Allāh b. ‘Alī Aṣġar12. This person taught in the Tara madrasa. He was a wise and distinguished person. One of his students, Mahdī Seydūkūf, became his successor (khalifa). Even though Fayḍ Allāh Mulla was prominent [as a scholar], he was not perfect in teaching due to physical weakness. His elderly son, who is still alive has in his possession wonderful books. His name is ‘Abd Allāh b. Fayḍ Allāh, he destroyed the majority of ‘useless books’ and did not keep them.

9 | A 16th century copy of the Qur’an from ‘Abd al-Aḥad’s library found its way to the collection of the Kazan’ Federal University. See: [13].10 | Cf.: [11, p.176].11 | Qur’an, 2: 255.12 | Cf.: [14, pp. 53–54].

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In accordance with his intention, the deceased [Fayḍ Allāh] went to Hājj. On the way there he [died and] was buried in Odessa. Some of his books were sent back to home. [The copy of] Iḥyā’ ‘ulūm al-dīn is now in the library of Ni‘mat Allāh b. Qārïmshāq Seydūkof’s brothers in the village Yānbāy called otherwise Mānchïl in the Tumān region. The Bukharan manuscript [of Iḥyā’] had absolutely no diacritics. The deceased [Fayḍ Allāh] was very much attached to this book. Besides of this copy, the [Seydūkof] library has two or three other books [from Fayḍ Allāh’s collection] which I placed there after I bought them from the heirs of Mahdī Seydīkūf. ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. ‘Umar.

Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm13. This person was the father of our father and he gave a name to our family. He was famous both for being an Imam in Tara and for his wealth. Ibrāhīm was also known for his modesty and piety (ittiqā’) and even excelled his own father in piety. His son-in-law told me that once, after he organized Muslims to cover the roof of a stone mosque with iron, he painted it himself in green. /13/ In 1829 at the end of his life [Ibrāhīm] left twelve thousand Rubles in cash for boys and six thousand for girls and went to Ḥājj. In [18]31 on the way back from Ḥājj together with his friends Ibrāhīm and his son Muḥammadī died in Beirut. I have [an exemplar] of Jāmi‘ al-Rumūz copied by him. May God bless them!

In 1794 Ibrāhīm’s father ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm together with rich merchants of that time built a stone mosque in Tara14. That mosque is still there. I did not find somebody who knows his biography. Though he is known under the title of akhūnd, I did not find any official written evidences. I have heard only stories about his generosity and wealth. This person died in the early 1800 and was buried in the village of Sayid located in fifteen versts from Tara.

/14/ A person famous as Būtīk Ishan lived in the region of Tobol’sk15. I do not know the name of his father. He was a wise and distinguished person. During the short nights he did not perform the fifth prayer (‘ishā’ namazï). Damullā Sabanchī b. [Yār Muḥammad] did his best to make him perform the prayer of ‘ishā’ during the short nights. [Sabanchī] brought him treatises of all the famous scholars of that time, and even when he went to Mecca the Honorable, he obtained there a treatise by ‘Abd al-Raḥman Sirāj. However, when Būtīk Ishan read all of these treatises, he refused them. Eventually Sabanchī b. [Yār Muḥammad] brought a treatise by ‘Abd al-Naṣr

13 | This biographical entry was used by Murād al-Ramzi in his Talfīq al-akhbār wa talqīḥ al-āthār fī waqā‘ī Qazān wa Bulġār wa mulūk al-Tatār [15].14 | In his other work ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm wrote the following about the building of the Tara mosque: “In 1790 ‘Abd al-Rashīd akhun went to the Irbit market, [where he] collected money for building a mosque in Tara. (…) In 1793 (sic!) Sayyid Baba from the Ayalï [tribe] and ‘Abd ar-Rashīd akhun from the Bukharans built the present day stone mosque. After the death of ‘Abd al-Rashīd akhun his son Ibrāhīm Bay became an administrator (mutavelli) of the mosque. This person was my grandfather; our current last name was first given to him. Ibrāhīm Bay was a famous merchant and took the mosque and madrasa affairs on his own. Even though he was busy with trade, he taught the Mathnawī to the madrasa students. Ibrāhīm, Mulla of the Uba village, told me that he studied the verses of the Mathnawī with Ibrāhīm Bay at the Tara mosque in 1823.” [16, p. 11]. Cf. information provided in Ibrāhīm’s diary: [28, pp. 72–74, 171–172].15 | “Khwajam Wīrdī b. Suyūnch Bāqī was a Sufi master (murshid) in the village Sawusqān close to the Siberian city of Tobol’sk and died in 1273 (=1856/57). His teacher Abu ‘Abd Allah ‘Abd al-Qādir b. Niyyāz Aḥmad al-Fārūqī died in 1271 (=1854/55)” [29, p. 25].


al-Qūrṣāwī. After reading this treatise, Būtīk Ishan accepted it with great respect and honor, and [henceforth] made the performance of the ‘ishā’ prayer a rule for himself. When he progressed with reading ‘Abd al-Naṣr Qūrṣāwī’s treatise, he was impressed by [the author’s] skills in Islamic law (usūl-i fiqh). Būtīk died around 1833.

/15/ The Famous Merchants of Siberia

In the early 1800s there was a very famous adherent to the Sunna, a pious friend of scholarship Ḥājjī Niyyāz b. Ḥaydar16. Among his contemporaries this person stood out for his courage. Being involved in the leather production, he became an owner of a big factory. He paid great attention to the improvement of a mosque and a madrasa [in Tara]. Ḥājjī Niyyāz mastered Qur’anic sciences (‘ilm Qur’ān). Between prayers of ‘asr and maghrib and between maghrib and ‘ishā’ Ḥājjī Niyyāz studied the recitation of Qur’an (qirā’a). This person learned the science of recitation with Egyptian scholars in Cairo as well as at home with local scholars. He used to spend a lot of money to support intellectuals. Because of his great love of scholars, he made a donation (waqf) of 30 thousand Rubles in cash for sustenance of local scholars. In the document (waqf-nāma) he said that even if his children would like to have money back, it was impossible. Besides his generosity Ḥājjī Niyyāz was known for bravery. In the city of Tara all Russian merchants and authorities were under his feet. He even dared to send off the head of the city. They put pressure on one of his Russian servants (prikashchik), Loskutov, in his own home. The latter died there and they called his son, gave him 5 thousand rubles in cash so that he could take his father’s corpse and bury it. They also fired another officer (ispravnik), [because he] announced that the Aitikin family does not possess rights on their lands17. [Niyyāz’s] lastname was Aitikin, [because] his father was nicknamed ‘Aituka’.

/16/ [Ḥājjī Niyyāz] left four sons and five daughters. All of his daughters inherited 70 thousand Rubles in cash (baqir hisabta) each. In 185218 he was buried in a village Sabalak which is in 20 km from Tara, may God’s mercy be upon him. His children at that time were regarded among the richest people, because of their rank19.

Muḥammadī Shikhūf was one of the Siberian merchants. Perhaps, this person was even richer than the deceased Ḥājjī Niyyāz. Their houses stood in front of each other. Whatever Ḥājjī Niyyāz did, this person tried to imitate. He was very arrogant. Following Ḥājjī Niyyāz, he donated ten thousand Rubles to the mosques’ benefit. However, in the documents (waqf-nāma) he wrote that “in case my descendants will be need, they are free to get money back”. After his death and big troubles, his heirs returned that money and spent them. The majority of his descendants and

16 | Cf.: [14, pp. 33–35].17 | About the Aitikins’ huge landownership see: [17].18 | Here addition in the margins by Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn: “In the later works [he wrote that it hap-pened] later.” 19 | On sources of their legitimacy see: [18]. A photographic portrait of the family see in figure 2 attached to this article.

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descendants of their descendants became stained and miserable and died in great need. Nowadays one of his daughters Laṭīfa is working as a lawyer. Another daughter Marthiya nicely lives with her only son in a village of Birnash. This son became a good man: Ṭāšbūlāṭ b. ‘Abd an-Nasr Kniazev serves in big committees (komissiia). The deceased Muḥammadi Ḥājjī died when he was fifty years old. He was buried in a village of Sabālak. A stone construction on his grave was sold by his son ‘Abd al-Ḥay to Rogachev, a Russian.

Genealogy which goes back to the descendants of hazrat ‘Ali, be God’s mercy upon him, was in the hands of Muḥammadi Ḥājjī20. /17/ Abd al-Jabbār b. Muḥammadī wanted to approve its authenticity in St. Petersburg, but he did not succeed in obtaining the duke status and soon died. This ‘Abd al-Jabbar Ḥājjī was a wonderful person, but he died too early in his thirty three. Much of his work remained unfinished, may God bless him21.

20 | The genealogy of the Shikhovs family is known in several variants; my article on their historical sig-nificance is forthcoming.21 | A comment by Ridā ad-Dīn b. Fakhr ad-Dīn: “These ten pages belong to the pen of ‘Abd al-Rashīd qāḍī”.


Arkhiv vostokovedov Instituta vostochnykh rukopisei RAN, F. 131. Fakhreddinov Rizaetdin Fakhretdinovich (1859–1936). Opis’ 1. Delo no. 4. Asar. Varianty. Opisaniia biografii tatarskikh deiatelei odnogo uchrezhdeniia ili odnogo areala. 1811–1906 gg. Tetrad’ no. 3. Zapisi biografii dukhovnykh lits Tobol’skoi gubernii. 14 ff.

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59Н.А. Добронравин | Сахарские и суданские исламские рукописи в собрании Института...

Translation

/1a/ [The Imams of Tara]

Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm. This person is well known as an akhūnd of Tara. Nobody knows about his deeds, but I know four of his sons. One of them also became an akhūnd, namely ‘Abd al-Rashīd akhūnd b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm. This ‘Abd al-Rashīd akhūnd was the first [among the Siberian scholars] who received his appointment at the Spiritual Board in the times of Mufti Muḥammadjān22. He became an akhūnd in 1790. Together with a rich man named Sayyīd [‘Abd al-Rashīd akhūnd] built a stone mosque in the city of Tara. To put the first stone into the mosque’s fundament, they gathered scholars from [various] places. Then scholars considered that person (i.e. Sayyid Bāy) and found him appropriate [for this mission]. Sayyīd Bāy said: “I did not leave prayer to be paid back (qaḍā), please give me permission to place [the first stone]. The scholars jointly praised him and allowed Sayyīd Bāy this job. This event took place in 1794. /1b/ Permission of the building of a stone mosque from the 19th August 1794 was registered under the number 20898 after decision of a court of Tobol’sk governorate23. Expenses of the mosque construction fell on akhūnd ‘Abd al-Rashīd, but others also helped. Sayyīd Bāy solved issues with the Russians.

Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm was the son of akhūnd ‘Abd al-Rashīd. Ibrāhīm devoted himself to the eternal world and became a disposer (mutaveli) of a stone mosque built by his father. He covered the roof of the stone mosque by metal and colored it in green. He studied along with trade; twice per week he took lessons on Mathnawī-yi Sharif24. He had three sons: the younger ‘Umar, the middle Bāyazīd, and the elder Muḥammadī. Together with his son Muḥammadī he went on the Hajj in 1834. During the trip the son of Ḥājjī died in Baghdad in his seventeen years old, while [Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Rashīd] died in Beyrut, /2a/ when he was forty25. They are buried there, may God’s mercy be upon them. The existing

22 | Muḥammadğān b. al-Ḥusayn b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Burindiqī (ca. 1758–1824) served as the first Mufti in the history of the Russian Empire (in office between 1789 and 1824) [3, pp. 50–66].23 | According to archeologist Sergei F. Tataurov (Omsk, Russia), an old wooden mosque in Tara was burned in 1755/56. Since that time Muslims started to send petitions to Russian administration asking to rebuild the mosque. On the city map from 1775 a mosque-in-progress is mentioned, but only the 1802 map indicates a functioning mosque, therefore, in Tataurov’s mind, the building process was finished only around 1801. Thus, due to bureaucratic circumlocution the permission to re-build the mosque was given only after twenty years of the first request. I duplicate here information generously provided by Dr. Tataurov in his private letter to me (10.11.2011).24 | The Persian text of Mathnawī was used along with its translations and commentaries. However, the Tatar manuscripts of this book are not numerous: there are only three copies at Kazan’ Federal University (F–402, F–505, F–528) and one copy at the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (No. 18363–67, copied by ‘Abd al-Raḥīm al-Utïz-Imiani). So far no copies of Mathnawī have been discovered in Western Siberia.25 | In other work ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm added: “A bequest, written by our grandfather from the mother’s side Ibrāhīm Bay when he turned his view towards Hijaz, is preserved today at the home of my brother. He died in Beyrut after he visited Damascus on the way back.” [16, p. 12].

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mosques in the villages Sayyīd and Uush were built by Ibrāhīm Ḥājjī. Naḏir b. Murād Baqī helped in erecting the mosque in a village of Sayyīd26, therefore he became known as Naḏir the beneficent.

Faḍil Ḥājjī from the village of Alman of Chilābī district of Orenburg governorate started to teach in Tara in 1815. When Faḍil Ḥājjī arrived, he was accompanied by two students: Subḥānqūl and Ibrāhīm. [The latter] Ibrāhīm b. Ja‘far received from Faḍil Ḥājjī and the Tara scholars a consentient appointment [as an Imam]. After that Faḍil Ḥājjī decided to go back home, and people asked him: “Leave us one of your best students for teaching and explaining [religion]”. They left my grandfather [from mother side] Ibrāhīm b. Ja‘far, who was from a respected family. When Faḍil Ḥājjī returned to Alman, he sent the women of Ibrāḥim together with [his father] Ja‘far Bābā to Tara. Since that time Ibrāhīm b. Ja‘far /2b/ taught in Tara for a couple of years. Then, in 1821, after being called for the Cossack service, he escaped from the Russian government to Tashkent. There he lived for several years in the Shükür Khān madrasa27, conducted trade and studied. My grandmother stayed in Tara with three daughters: Fāṭima, ‘Afīfa, and Ḍa‘īfa. Fāṭima gave birth to ‘Abd Allāh b. Naṣr Allāh, ‘Afīfa — to us, ‘Abd al-Rashīd, and Isma‘īl. Ḍa‘īfa [gave birth to] Ayyūb b. Khalīd. The rest [of his kids] died. In 1832 [Ibrāhīm] again visited Tara, after that he went to Tashkent and there he went to the Mercy of God. He was supposedly buried in the Shükür Khān quarter28. After that ‘Arīf Khān b. Yarīm, a relative of Dīn ‘Alī Sayyīd29, was appointed a new Imam. He did not stay for a long time, because he was fired after ‘Abd al-Jalīl b. Khilvetī’s examination in 1825. We will go back to this later.

/3а/ During the year 1839 Muḥammadğān akhūnd b. ***30 taught in Tara. Biography of this Bashkir is unknown.

In 1831 Dawlat Bāqī b. ‘Alī Aṣġar became an Imam [in Tara]. He obtained his education in Bukhara. After four years of performing the duties of Imam he occasionally came across a question of new moon [in the context of Islamic fast]. Because of his weakness in front of the arguments of the opponent, [Dawlat Bāqī] understood the importance of astronomy. In order to study the subject, he went to Bukhara. He studied eagerly, obtained some [astronomical] instruments there and went back to Tara, but on the way stopped in Aqmullā,31 where was killed. His books and instruments were transferred to the heirs. In particular, one of the instruments had on its surface a noble verse “The Skies and Land are embraced by His Throne”32

26 | A Tatar village Sayyid awïlï or Khwāja awïl (Rus. Seitovo) is still located in Tara region of Omsk oblast.27 | Before the Revolution in Tashkent there were two madrasas with the same name of Shükür Khān. One of them, located in the quarter of Kukcha, was open in the early 19th century. Most probably, this is the madrasa mentioned here. More details on the Shükür Khān madrasa: [19, pp. 153–154].28 | ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm summarized this information in his later work: “The father of my mother Ibrāhīm Mulla originated from the village of Alman. After performing the duties of a teacher in Tara, he went to Tashkent, where he passed away after a plenty of time teaching. He was buried near the Shükür Khān madrasa.” [16, p. 18, footnote 1].29 | ‘Arīf Khān b. Yarīm was a brother of Aytuka, a founder of famous trading family of the Aitikins, and the son of Yarïm b. Ḥaydar b. Mir ‘Alī b. Sayyīd Muḥammad b. Dīn ‘Alī Khwāja.30 | The name of his father is not mentioned.31 | Aqmullā was the former name of Astana, the capital of Republic of Kazakhstan.32 | Qur’an, 2:255.


was written. [This instrument] fell into the hands of Naṣr al-Dīn b. Niyyāz in Tara33, who placed it in the Tobol’sk museum. Since that time it is preserved there.

In 1841 Fayḍ Allāh b. ‘Alī Aṣġar after studying in Bukhara taught in Tara. He lived 61 year, studied a lot and became a martyr while performing the pilgrimage in 1852. He was a well-educated, dignified and pious person. Many of his books, unfortunately, did not return [from his last trip], with an exception of a copy of Iḥyā’ ‘ulūm [ad-dīn]. This is an excellent, exceptionally old copy. In the end the manuscript moved to the hands of Mahdī b. Saydek, who exchanged it with Ni‘mat Allāh Ḥājjī to a modern printed book. Nowadays [this manuscript] is kept at the library of Ni‘mat Allāh Ḥājjī in Tiumen’. /3b/ Descendants [of Fayḍ Allāh] lacked God’s blessing and lost all books. Now one of his sons is living in the village of Bīrnāsh34.

Since 1853 Mahdī b. Saydek was a teacher in the Tara madrasa35. This person originated from the village of Ishīn Tamāq36 in Tara district of Sārghāch volost’. He was from the Qurtāq tribe. He obtained his education from the Tara madrasa at the time of damulla Fayḍ Allāh, reached a stage of excellency [in sciences] and became accustomed to studying all the time. He was an extremely learned person and also acquaint anted with the Russian system. Being familiar with each local community (maḥalla) in the Tara district, he served as muḥtasib in the times of mufti ‘Abd al-Wāḥid37. Therefore, [every time] when an Imam of a certain village passed away, he used to take register books (mītrīkä däftäre) of this village and did not give a permission to elect a new Imam. This way at the end of his life he appeared to be an Imam of fourteen villages. /4а/ These villages were dispersed on three hundred versts: on the one side there were [the villages] Ollī Qūl38 and Tārlar-Tāzlar; on the other side there were Aymī and Ishīn Tamāq. Once, when his children studied in Uush, in a village Soldatovo39, which is located in a half a verst, in a house of infidels (i.e. Russians) several people were killed. When the majority of stolen from that house things were discovered in the living house of Mahdī b. Saydek, he was blamed in robbery and murder. For further investigation they chained his arms and legs and sent him to the fortress in the Kolosov province. After that they transferred him to Tara for inquiry. Because the famous and rich men of Tara respected scholarship and because [Mahdī’s] wife was a relative to the Aytikins’ mother, [the Aytikins] collected a lot of money to release [him from prison]. After [his jail release, Mahdī b. Saydek] settled in Tara and occupied position of Imam for a while. He had a quarrel with ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ b. Niyyāz [Aytikin]40 because of money [donated by Niyyāz Aytikin to the

33 | Naṣr al-Dīn b. Niyyāz (d. 1894) belonged to the Aytikins family and was the son of Niyyāz b. Ḥaydar (1777–1847).34 | Present-day village of Bernagul’ (Rus. Berniazhka) in Tara region of Omsk oblast.35 | Cf.: [12, pp. 206–207].36 | Present-day village Ust’-Ishim in Omsk region.37 | ‘Abd al-Wāḥid (1786–1862) occupied the post of Mufti in 1840–1862.38 | Present-day village Ollu Qul (Rus. Bol’shie Murly) in Bol’sherech’e region of Omsk oblast.39 | Today the village Zur Uush (Rus. Bol’shie Turaly) in Tara region of Omsk oblast incorporates the Russian village Soldatovo.40 | ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ b. Niyyāz (d. 1883), nicknamed as ‘Patta’, was the oldest son of Niyyāz Aytikin and a successful merchant with trading centres in Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk, Vernyi (Almaty), and Tara [20, p. 123].

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mosque]. In 1866 [Mahdī] took the money in his hands. /4b/ After being involved in a great trouble he resigned from his post of muḥtasib in 1868. When time passed, after reconciling with a merchant ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ and others, he slaughtered a sheep, feed people and claimed: “I took the post again and became a muḥtasib.” At that time, when the trouble was settled, they agreed [to recognize Mahdī’s claim] without demanding a proof, [therefore] it is unclear whether he [really] had a permission (ukaz) or any other document, but he became a muḥtasib again and carried out his duty until the end of his days.

During his life time [Saydek] married sixteen women. This was of some profit: when a rich man died, the muḥtasib used to marry his widow, take the property, and then to divorce. If there was a beautiful women, he could blame a husband in infidelity (takfīr), deliver a judgment to deprive the wife, and then marry her himself. [This way] he married many widows and virgins. Even at the end of his life in his seventy five /5а/ he married a sixteen-years-old girl from a village Ollī Qūl; this was in 1890. At the end of his life he became known for beautiful Qur’an recitation (tilāwat) and apologized to everybody. In January 1891 he suddenly passed away in a settlement (zaimka) Būksīm in three verstas from Tara. Some people say that he was poisoned, but there is no proof. His grave is there, may God’s mercy be upon him.

‘Ashūr Bāqī b. Rajab Bāqī was an Imam [in Tara] between 1837 and 188741. The start of his life was marked by prosperity, but he ended up in poverty. His descendants were rather unfortunate. Before his appointment Imamat in the city of Tara functioned without any conflicts for a century. This person was the only one who did not accept property [well-being of religious authorities who did not work], and caused a trouble. Some Mullas left their positions by their own will; others were fired by the government.

Raḥmat Allāh b. Yūsuf from a village Ianġūrāz in Temnikovsky district of Tambov governorate was a teacher at the Tara madrasa since 185642. During his teaching at the Tara madrasa this person enjoyed a wide fame; his students were numerous and gathered from many places. Raḥmat Allāh taught there for more than twenty years, married the daughter of a rich man Mīr Ṣāliḥ, and was so pious that he did not possess any windows [at home] on the street side and those windows that were close to the street were locked. From two to five of his students were strong. /5b/ One of them, Hamza b. Muḥammad Amīn was an Imam in the city of Tūm (Tomsk). Another, Mu‘tasim b. Bilāl was an Imam in a village of Qomārāw in the Tobol’sk governorate. Raḥmat Allāh b. Yūsuf lived in Tara very well and gained much prosperity: more than ten thousand Rubles. As a result of a conflict with merchants, in 1876 he decisively

41 | “‘Ashūr Bāqï b. Rajab Bāqī was an Imam in Ṭāra together with damullāh Raḥmatullāh ḥaḍrat. He was buried in the city of Ṭārā” [8, f. 1a].42 | ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm remembers that he had a possibility to study with Raḥmat Allāh in Tara, but by unclear reasons his father preferred to send him to Alman in the Orenburg governorate. [16, p. 17]. Cf. his biography: [12, pp. 139–143]. “Raḥmat Allāh b. Yūsuf was born in the village Yānġūrāz of the Tīmnikūf district in the Ṭanbāv governorate. He studied for fifteen years at a school of damullāh Ismā‘īl b. Mūsā in Qïshqār. In 1856 he arrived to the city of Ṭārā, where he started to teach at the age of thirty five. He spent twenty years in Ṭārā and moved to the city of Qïzīl Yār, where he taught for five years and was buried there. Khamza Ḥamīdūf and Mu‘taṣim Bilālūf are his students” [8, f. 1a].


moved from Tara to Petropavlovsk. Before becoming an Imam there Raḥmat Allāh remained unemployed for nine years, because of some trouble. Only in 1884 he was appointed and started to teach, but already in 1887 he passed away there. May God’s mercy be upon him.

In 1885, after my return from Medina the Radiant to Tara, I, a weak ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. ‘Umar b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥīm, became an Imam-khatīb and teacher [at the Tara madrasa]. On 7th January 1891 I was appointed as an akhūnd according to the decision number thirty four of the provincial government. On 22nd April 1892 the Ministry of Interior Affairs granted me an appointment as a judge (qāḍī) under the number 1837. /6а/ Details of my biography are treated in my work Zevāl ba‘dında newāl yaki Zillet ba‘dında ‘izzet43. Those who are interested can consult that book.

Rural Mullas of the Tara district

Niyyāz Muḥammad akhūnd b. Murād lived in Tūzqazan44, which is located in sixty versts away from Tara. In 1790 he became an akhūnd and died in 1838. He was the leader of those who were dismissed after Mulla ‘Abd al-Jalīl’s examination. Though originating from Bukharans, [his father] Murād registered himself as a native (inorodets), therefore his descendants today are regarded as such45.

‘Abd al-Malīk b. Niyyāz Muḥammad was an akhūnd of the same village and accepted this post from his father. He was very simple and a great joker. When he has already become an akhūnd, small children used to /6b/ call him Mulla ‘Abd. He argued much with the local population46.

‘Abd al-‘Alīm b. ‘Abd al-Malīk was an Imam of the abovementioned village since 1863. He studied with damullā Nūr Allāh b. ‘Abd Allāh47 in a village Sātlī Khān48 of Tobolsk district. He served as Imam for twenty six years and continued improving his knowledge. Only at the end of his life ‘Abd al-‘Alīm changed his attitude towards studies. His physical power and impressive body guaranteed that population and elite (al-‘awwam wa-l-khawwas) were careful to his words. He did not reach his goals and died when he was around 73 years old in 1889. ‘Abd al-‘Alīm was buried in Tūzqazan. Two of his sons are living there.

43 | ‘Abd al-Rashīd b. Ibrāhīm’s work under this title is not familiar to me and is not mentioned in the list of his writings [21, pp. 102–130; 22, pp. 416–418]. It might be that he had in mind his biographical book that was published under the title Tercüme-i Halim in St. Petersburg in 1912.44 | Tuzkazan’ is located in the Bol’sherech’e region of Omsk oblast’.45 | Most probably Murād moved to the iasachnye category. According to the Russian legislation those who immigrated to Siberia as a state farmer (gosudartsvennyi krest’ianin) were obliged to fulfil the military service and pay additional taxes. See other examples of similar shift in status: [23, p. 53].46 | The following sentence was crossed out: “After examination of mulla ‘Abd al-Jalīl he (‘Abd al-Malīk) was fired.”47 | “Nūr Allāh b. ‘Abd Allāh Bāṭïrkāyūf, whom you have mentioned, was born in the village Irī of the Qūrdāj volost in the Ṭārā district, but the date is unknown. For five years he studied with Bāy Murād ḥaḍrat in Qāzān and then for a couple of years he taught in the village of Ḏātlū Khān which is located in three verst from Tobol’sk [city]. He became very old and died of asthma in his seventy. He was buried in the village Ḏātlū Khān in 1861” [8, f. 1a].48 | This village in the Tobol’sk region does not exist anymore.

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In 1891 ‘Abd al-Salām b. ‘Abd al-Karīm b. ‘Abd al-Salām Ishān Saydāshev at-Tobūlī became an Imam in Tūzqazan49. He was so greedy for worldly goods that when collecting a tenth (‘ushr) from the village inhabitants, he took it from infidels [i.e. Russians] too. /7а/ Therefore he was in a great quarrel with locals. In a short period of time he managed to collect much wealth. In 1893 ‘Abd al-Salām went to Hajj together with ‘Abd al-Raqīb b. ‘Abd al-Wāḥid. There, in Mecca the Honoured, he passed away. He obtained his education in Bukhara.

In the same year ‘Abd al-Ḥakīm b. Khayr Allāh b. ‘Ārif Khān b. Yārīm was elected [as an Imam] in Tūzqazan. He is not yet officially approved, may God help him. In 1894 he was finally employed as an Imam. Though he does not teach, he has a good reputation as an educated person. Fortunately, he returned from his trip to the provinces of Egypt and Hijaz50.

/7b/ ‘Ubayd Allāh b. Niyyāz Muḥammad b. Murād served as an Imam in Shikhler or Räjäb which is located fifteen versts away from Tara51. At that time he was a famous scholar, a master of word, a possessor of high morals, and a modest person. After arrival from that village to the city (i.e. Tara), he visited lessons every day. ‘Ubayd Allāh was totally indifferent to fame. In 1874 he went to the Hajj, but did not receive a pass and returned from Odessa. The duty of Hajj he fulfilled later in 1875. After a safe return, he established many pious endowments: in the village of Tūskazan he built a madrasa and set up a lecturing room. They have books there. His children and grandchildren were insignificant. ‘Ubayd Allāh died in his seventy five years in 1882 and was buried in Shikhler.

Urāz Muḥammad b. ‘Awwas b. Mādī, a native of this village of Räjäb, known by his nickname (laqab) as Tutāy, became an Imam in Qïzïl Qāsh in 1822. He was a great master of the spoken word and a joker. His courtesy was very pleasant. In 1828 twelve Mullas of the Tara district jointly examined Mulla ‘Abd al-Jalīl b. Khilwetī. They found him suitable to be an Imam, and wrote a letter to [the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual] Assembly: “We accepted the exam, but there is an obstacle for going to Assembly and holding an exam there — he is lacking health. Therefore please give him a permission to be an Imam without an official exam.” Then /8а/ all those who signed the letter were fired. Their leader Niyyāz Muḥammad akhūnd [from Tūzqazan] was fired too. On this occasion Tutāy Mulla made a joke: every year crop fields are getting frozen, this year Mullas and akhūnds were frozen too.

When my father-in-law Ḥurrem Shāh b. Ḥaydar52 returned from the Hājj, Tutāy Mulla accompanied by two other Mullas came to visit him. Thereby Ḥājjī gifted each

49 | “‘Abd al-Salām Ishan lived in the Tobol’sk region. You say that you have no information about him. He received a license (markhas) in Bukhara the Noble in the khānaqa of khalīfa Niyyāz Qūl Ishan Turkmānī ḥaḍrat. ‘Abd al-Salām Ishan was a teacher and died of bavma decease in the village Bāyān Yūrshāq of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate on 29 March 1844, when he was 68 years old. It appeared that aristocrats (mīrzā) were buried in the village of Yūrshāq, but no registers exist. That year no register out of fifty five was found. We know that he was born in 1776, but the exact date is unknown” [8, f. 1a].50 | The last three sentences were added later.51 | Present day village Rechapovo is a part of settlement Mezhdurech’e in Tara region of Omsk oblast’.52 | Ḥurrem Shāh b. Ḥaydar b. Yārīm b. Ḥaydar b. Mīr ‘Alī b. Sayyīd Muḥammad b. Dīn ‘Alī died in 1877. He was an elderly brother of famous Siberian merchant Niyyāz Aytikin, lived in Tara. A comprehensive genealogy of Ḥurrem Shāh and all of his close relatives between the 16th and early 20th centuries survived as a manuscript entitled Kitāb shağarat al-nasab khwājagān [24, f. 45].


Mulla with a rosary with thirty three granules. A certain rich man named Kūchī was also at that meeting. He was praised with a rosary of ninety nine granules. In response Tutāy Mulla said that he understood superiority of ninety nine granules over thirty three: one rich man appeared to be equal to three Mullas.

On the way back from examination he stayed for two years in the outskirts of Tobol’sk, studying with ‘Abd al-Salām Ishān. After that, when he returned to Tara, one of his fellows asked him, whether he studied properly. The answer was “I studied very well and for a long time.”

His descendants were rather fruitless. He died in 1848 and was buried in the village Qïzïl Qāsh. In our times one of his sayings turned to be the opposite. It was always like this: a birth of Mulla from Mulla is a custom; a birth of an ignorant from Mulla is unbelievable. Nowadays indeed Mulla gives birth to an ignoramus.

/8b/ In 1842 Nur Allāh b. ‘Abd Allāh Bāṭïrkāev became an Imam in the village of Yirdī53 of the Utūz volost of the Tara district. He was a very smart person. His father, ‘Abd Allāh akhūnd, came from Russia and in order to save children from military service registered himself as a native (inorodets). In 1815 he studied Tawḍīh with Faḍil Ḥājjī, when the latter was an akhūnd. Nur Allāh is originally from a village of Kāyna in Perm governorate. He is a Bahkir. I have seen a letter to Nur Allāh from Mulla Nu‘mān b. Sa‘īd from the village of Qāmaqa in Cheremshan volost of the Spassk district. From the letter it has become clear that [Nur Allāh] was a student of the writer (i.e. Mulla Nu‘mān). The year is unknown, only fifth January is mentioned. This person [Nur Allāh] is bound with a Mulla Jalālī akhūnd Yūsufī. At the end of his life Nur Allāh taught in Sātlï Khān near Tobol’sk. In 1861 he died there. His descendants were unfortunate. One of his sons is a very bad Imam in the village Yirī.

Ḥusām ad-Dīn b. ‘Alī b. ***54 was an Imam in a village of Qïzïl Qāsh or ‘Aydqul55 which is located twenty five versts away from Tara. He studied in Bukhara and was a simple, eloquent, and forthright person. In 1860 he became an Imam and died in 1865. He did not have children.

/9а/ ‘Umar b. Muḥammadī b. ***56 was an Imam and teacher in the village of Aubātqān57, which is located 120 versts away from Tara. He studied for twenty years in Bukhara. [‘Umar] was an easily irritable person. He died in 1877 and was buried in the village of Aubātqān. He did not have children.

53 | Most probably ‘Yirdī’ refers to the village Ia-Irtyshskaia in Omsk region. See: [25, pp. 113–134].54 | “Ḥusām al-Dīn b. ‘Alī, whom you have mentioned, was born in the village Qïzīl Qāsh, which is located in twenty five versts from Ṭārā. He studied in Bukhara the Noble in the khānaqa of khalīfa Ḥusayn and received a license (markhas). When he returned back, he taught at that village and was buried there. It is known from the register [compiled by] Ḥalīdūf that Ḥusām al-Dīn was an Imam and Mulla” [8, f. 1a].55 | This village in the Tara region of Omsk oblast’ disappeared in the late 2000s.56 | “‘Umar b. Muḥammadī, whom you have mentioned, was born in Yāŋā awïl, which is located in hundred versts from the aforementioned Ṭārā. Several years he studied in the village of Ṣāwiṣqān of Tobol’sk governorate with Ishan Ḥūjam Wīrdī and afterwards he went to Bukhara the Noble. There he studied for thirty years together with Ḥusām al-Dīn b. ‘Alī, received upbringing and knowledge in the aforementioned khānaqa of khalīfa Ḥusayn. After return he taught for a couple of years in Yāŋā awïl, where he was then buried” [8, f. 1a].57 | This village was located in Bol’sherech’e region of Omsk oblast’ and mainly inhabited by the Siberian Bukharans.

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Ḥabīb Allāh b. Nad Bāqī was an Imam in Tār Tāmāq58. He was among ‘the frozen Mullas’ in the Mulla ‘Abd al-Jalīl’s affair of 1825. He died in 1841.

Dost Muḥammad b. Muḥammad Bāqī from the village Uush was also among the ‘frozen’. He was a temporary Imam in Qïzïl Qāsh.

‘Abd al-Jalīl b. Khilvetī b. Raḥīm Bāqī b. ‘Ashūr Bāqī b. Kudāy Bāqī b. Nadir Bāqī b. al-Muḥammad at-Turkistānī b. ‘Abd al-Razāq. He was an unregistered young teacher in the village Qïzïl Qāsh, which is located twenty five versts away from Tara. His health was not perfect; therefore Imams of the Tara district freed him from the exam [in Ufa], which he was not able to attend, but they found him suitable for the position /9b/ and collectively sent a report to [the Muslim Spiritual] Assembly. Afterwards those Mullas who signed that report were fired. ‘Abd al-Jalīl served an Imam and teacher without a license.

‘Abd al-Jalīl’s ancestor al-Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Razāq b. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz b. Muḥammad Sharīf arrived from Turkistan59. ‘Abd al-Jalīl did not have children, therefore he took Ibn ‘Umar Sirāğ al-Dīn and raised him. Today in Qïzïl Qāsh a person known as ‘Abd al-Jalīl is the son of that Sirāj ad-Dīn. ‘Abd al-Jalīl Mulla died around 1845. He studied with Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad in the Tobol’sk volost.

Ḥusayn b. Urāz Muḥammad belonged to the Ayālï60 tribe (ṭā’ifa). He studied with Mulla Ibrāhīm in Tara and then went to Tashkent to study with another Ibrāhīm. In 1838 he got sick and returned with a caravan to Tara. Here he recovered and became an Imam in the village of Tārlar-Tāzlar in 1845. In 1851 [Ḥusayn] used his Imam license (ukaz) as a guarantee to a Russian merchant from a village Jawār and took from him twenty five Rubles as an interest-free loan (qarḍ hasan). The same year that Russian died. He did not have money to give back for five month, but after that he [brought money] and asked the Russian heirs about the document. The answer was: “We do not know about any license. Our father was not an appointed Imam.” In 1858 during an inventory in the village of Birnash or Ubā they did not find the date and number of his license, and [Ḥusayn] lost his post. /10а/ He got sick for several years. Though he explained the situation many times, [Ḥusayn] failed to return his position. It is now possible to do without the explanation of another story of that man’s biography, still I found it is appropriate to give one more account. And this is an extraordinary story that is unlike everything else.

Mulla Ḥusayn b. Uraz Muḥammad61 hated one person in the village so that he wanted to beat him, but did not want to be shamed by the settlers and took a bit of time to take rest. He took one day to recur to his mind and decided to drink some alcohol not to feel shame. Late at night he went to the Russian village nearby, got drunk there and asked an alcohol seller: “Do I look drunk?” The seller answered: “No.” He did not know the drinker, but he was aware of the signs of drunkenness. Then [Ḥusayn] said that he wants to fight that person [whom he hated] and that

58 | Present-day village Ust’ Tara in Tara region of Omsk oblast’. 59 | ‘Turkistan’ here means not the region, but rather the city of Turkistan known in the middle ages as Yasï and located in the Chimkent region of Republic of Kazakhstan. 60 | The Ayālï tribe was located around the city of Tara. Ethnographer N.A. Tomilov included it into the group of the Tara Tatars [26, p. 45].61 | In the text mistakenly: Arzū Muḥammad.


he is not afraid of him. It was already very dark, when he went back to his village. Almost as a warrior (they call him Ḥusayn the Hero) he got ready for a battle and went directly to the enemy’s house. /10b/ Such a camel!!!62 /11а/ There were so many stories with Ḥusayn the Hero like this that one could compile a book. Now he is seventy five years old, but does not have white hairs on his head and beard. He is absolutely black so that he looks like forty five years old. He died in 1894 and was buried in the village of Birnash63.

Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad was a famous scholar of the Tobol’sk district64. He was a very pious and dignified person. He brought up many students. In the 1221 year of Hijra [1806–07] Sabānchī went to Hājj. It was the starting Hajj of Siberian scholars.65 This person died around 1832 г. From ‘Abd al-Raḥman Sirāğ, a scholar from Hijaz and Medina the Rediant, he received a special decision (istifā) concerning the necessity of the night prayer (‘ishā) during short nights in Siberia.

/11b/ A great scholar Khwājam Bīrdī b. *** known as Būtīk lived in a village Sāwusqān which is located fifteen versts away from Tobol’sk66. He thought that the night prayer during the short nights is not obligatory. Sabānchī Mulla discovered for him very good treatises on the topic of night prayer. [Khwājam Bīrdī] did not accept any of them, even the treatise of ‘Abd al-Raḥman Sirāğ from Mecca the Honourable. After that he turned to a treatise by a famous scholar ‘Abd al-Nāṣr Qūrṣāwī. He read it, accepted [the arguments], and smoothly conducted the night prayer. [Khwājam Bīrdī] died around 1855.

/12а/ Well-informed Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad was an Imam in the village of Nūr Bāqī Qūllārī which is located twenty versts from Tobol’sk.

Rūzī Ishān b. ‘Umar was a very famous person67. He died in a village of Shūlgūn around 1857. This village is located fifteen versts from Tobol’sk. In Tobol’sk he

62 | This anecdote goes on until the middle of f. 11a. For details see the facsimile.63 | The last sentence was added later.64 | Cf.: [14, p. 61]. “Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad was born in the village Mīryām Qullār which is located in thirty five versts from Tobol’sk in 1759. After studying in Bukhara the Noble he returned to Mīryām Qullār, where he taught until his eighty four years old. He died in 1853 and was buried in the same village. Many of his students are Imams, [for example] Mulla Fakhr al-Dīn b. Yārlïqāsh in the village of Wāghāy in Tobol’sk governorate who is ninety years old now. Akhūnd Ṭāsh Tīmer is living in the Yālūṭor district of Tumān region. Many others were also his students, I do not remember all of them” [8, f. 1a].65 | This means that before 1806–07 Siberian Muslims were not allowed to go to Mecca.66 | Cf.: [14, p. 73]. “Khwājam Wīrdī Ishan, whom you have mentioned, originated from the descendants of Ḥūjam Wīrdī b. Suyūnch Bāqī from among the military group (yūmushlï ṭā’ifa) in the village of Ṣāwiṣqān which is located in twelve versts from Tobol’sk. He went to Bukhara the Noble and received there a license of a Sufi vicar (markhas-i khalīfa) in the khānaqa Mirāth of ḥaḍrat Kulān Ishan Ṣāḥib zāde, who was a great scholar. Khwājam Wīrdī Ishān taught a number of years in that village of Ṣāwiṣqān. He had many students. Mulla Bashīr, an Imam and teacher in the village Qārāghāy of the Qārāghāy volost of the Tobol’sk governorate, was among them. The aforementioned Khwājam Wīrdī Ishan was buried in this Ṣāwiṣqān” [8, f. 2b].67 | Cf.: [14, p. 138]. “Rūzī Ishan, whom you have mentioned, originated from the group of Ṣārts (ṣārtiyya jamā‘tī) in the village of Shūlkūn in the Tobol’sk governorate, which is located in twelve versts from Tobol’sk. He studied in Bukhara the Noble together with the aforementioned Khwājam Wīrdī Ishan and received a license from one teacher (ustāḏ). There is no birth register. It is known that he died of yūtïl in his seventy seven years in the village of Shūlkūn which is in two versts from Ṣāwiṣqān of the same district on 26 September 1872. He was buried there” [8, f. 2b].

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converted to Islam one of the big Russian merchants, who himself invited Ishan for declaration of the [faith] testimony. His children did not understand him68.

Suyūch Bāqī b. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz69 was an Imam in the village of Qumārāw, which is located in twenty five versts from Tobol’sk. He died in 1875.

/12b/ Qurbān ‘Alī b. Abū Shiḥma was an Imam in Kazanlī village of the Tobol’sk district70. He brought up many students and died around 1870. Three of his sons serve now as Imams in the Tobol’sk district. Two of them are not significant, whereas the third, named Abū Shiḥma, is rather strong in scholarship. He also produced some students.

So far we have mentioned only those Imams, may God’s Mercy be upon them, who have already passed away. Let me shortly mention the contemporary Imams. Today twenty five Imams are serving in thirty five mosques of the Tara district. If five of them are worthy, the rest cannot distinguish north (shimāl) and right (yamīn), leanness (hizāl) and fatness (samīn), Khitay and Khotan, the right direction (karte) and the opposite (chiten), dumbness (bakam) and “how much” (bi-kam), stomach (shikem) and having sex (segam). Decrease of brains, disease of understandings, emptiness of results, doubled stupidity, latent madness, difficulty of concentration, trust in slandering are the results of it. There are Imams even of such level that they do not know how to perform funerals. I was amazed when I heard from a trusted person how an Imam performed funerals. May God correct this situation!

/13а/ ‘Ismat Allāh Būrūndūkov is among Siberian scholars that should be mentioned71. He was a teacher and Mulla in the village of Mānchil or Yānbāy of the Tiumen’ district, where he arrived due to invitation of Qārïmshāq Saydūkov in 1856 and therefore established teaching there. He originated from a village *** in the Ḥwālīn district of the Saratov governorate. He studied in Machqara as well as in Bukhara, but lived there only for a short time. I do not know his scientific level, but between 1856 and 1893 he had always been busy with teaching 200–300 seekers of knowledge. One of his students became a teacher and now he is an Imam in our Tara district. He is among the aforementioned twenty five Imams, but this student stayed at the madrasa only fifteen years. If he would stay ten years longer, he could have joined those five distinguished [scholars mentioned above].

68 | This is one of the rare examples of a Russian Muslim of the 19th centuries. For more information about the history of Islam among the Russians see: [27].69 | “Imam of the Muslims Ḥājjī Suyūch Bāqī b. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz was born in the village Qomārāv of the Tobol’sk governorate in 1802. He studied with ‘Abd al-Nāṣir ḥaḍrat in Almān. He served as an Imam and teacher of this village Qomārāv and died in 1877. He was buried on the local cemetery” [8, f. 2b].70 | Cf.: [14, p. 135]. “Qurbān ‘Alī b. Abū Shiḥma, whom you have mentioned, was born in the village Qāzānlï of the Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate. The concrete date is unknown. In Machkara he studied with damulla ‘Abd Allāh b. Yaḥyā al-Charṭūshī ḥaḍrat. He taught in the village of Qāzānlï for a couple of years. He died in his sixty seven in circa 1872 and was buried in the aforementioned village Qāzānlï” [8, f. 2b].71 | Riḍā al-Dīn b. Fakhr al-Dīn provides us with a full name: ‘Ismat Allāh b. Sayf al-Dīn b. ‘Uthmān b. Yūsuf b. Bāy Mirza al-Būrūndūqī (d. 1327/ 1908). Cf. his biography in: [12, p. 325].


Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl is an Imam in Qomārāw village of the Tobol’sk region72. He studied in Tara with Raḥmat Allāh b. Yūsuf. This person, though he was first subject to different calls from abroad and was also imprisoned by the state, since his release from prison he is busy with teaching the students at madrasa. In 1893 he also became an akhūnd. Today in Tobol’sk /13b/ region he is the best among scholars73.

‘Abd al-Khāliq b. *** is an Imam-khaṭīb and muḥtasib of Bīk village in the Tobol’sk region. This person is living with four wives. Today he has forty six children, but I do not know from how many mothers. He is still alive.74

72 | “Imam and akhūnd Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl was born in the village Qomārāv of the Tobol’sk governorate on 6 January 1838. I went to the city of Ṭārā in the year [18]56 and studied with damullā Raḥmatullāh b. Mulla Yūsuf during fifteen years. In 1871 I came back to the village Qomārāv, opened a school Khaliṣāliya, [where] I taught children for five years without an appointment (ukaz). In [18]81 I passed an exam at the Spiritual Assambly, on 3 August [18]82 I received a license (ukaz). Now I carry out Imamat and teaching, I am fifty eight years old” [8, f. 2a].73 | A manuscript with his autographs is preserved at the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, manuscript no. 1062T. See their photographic reproduction in [7, p. 35].74 | Mu‘taṣīm b. Bilāl provides us with some more biographies of Siberian Islamic scholars: “Ḥaḍrat ‘Ayd Muḥammad akhūnd Chanāyūf was born in the village Aghïd Bāsh of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate in 1805. He studied in Qazan with damullā Isḥāq ḥaḍrat. In 1835 he went home, became an akhūnd and muḥtasib. He died in his seventy years old in 1877 and was buried in the aforementioned village Aghïd Bāsh.Sabānchī b. Būghāy was born in the village Ṭūġïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate in 1710. He studied in Almān with a certain ‘Abd al-Karīm qāḍī and died in his ninety years in 1800.Navrūz b. Sabānchī was born in the village of Ṭūghïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate in 1800. He studied at the school of famous Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad, who studied in Bukhara the Noble, in the village Qullār of the Tobol’sk governorate. In 1812 he received a position (ukaz) [of an Imam]. He died in his sixty seven years old in 1867, on the fifty fifth year of his Imamat, and was buried in the aforementioned village Ṭūġïz.Mulla Muḥammad Raḥīm b. Navrūz was born in the village of Ṭūġïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate in 1811. He studied in Qazan [region] in the school of Machqara with damulla ḥaḍrat ‘Abd Allāh b. Yāḥyā al-Chartūshī. He received an appointment (ukaz) in 1844 and for several years he was an Imam and teacher. On the thirty third year of being ana Imam and teacher he died in the aforementioned village of Ṭūġïz in 1874 г.Muḥammad Sharīf b. Muḥammad Raḥīm was born in the village of Ṭūġïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate in 1838. He studied at the Machqara school with damullā ḥaḍrat ‘Abd Allāh b. Yāḥyā al-Chartūshī and after his death at the school of damulla Muḥliṣ Allāh b. Maqṣūd. With time he became one of the famous khalīfa. He died in his twenty six years in 1864, directly in the class-room of damulla Muḥliṣ Allāh.Mulla Ya‘qūb b. Mulla Muḥammad Raḥīm in the same village of Ṭūġïz. He studied in Machqara with damullā Muḥliṣ Allāh Maqṣūd. In 1871 he received an appointment (ukaz). He is still alive and is an Imam of the village Ṭūġïz.Mulla Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ b. Muḥammad Raḥīm was born in the village of Ṭūġïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate. First he studied for twelve years in the village of Mālchin of Tiumen’ district with damullā ‘Ismat Allāh b. Sayf al-Dīn ḥaḍrat from the village Yirligī (?) of the Ḥwālīn district of the Ṣarāṭāv governorate and then he moved to ‘Arabistān. He lived there several years and then became an Imam and teacher in the village of Qïzīl Bāy of Tobol’sk governorate and is still working there.Mulla Bahā’ al-Dīn b. Mulla Muḥammad Raḥīm was born in the village of Ṭūġïz of Uvād volost in the Tobol’sk governorate. He studied with the same damullā ‘Ismat Allāh b. Sayf al-Dīn ḥaḍrat. He was eleven years with him and then spent three years with Ishān ‘Abd al-Raḥman b. ‘Atā’ Allāh ḥaḍrat al-Qurṣāwī in Yārqand. He came back to Ṭūġïz and presently does not have any appointment. This person is the youngest son of damullā Muḥammad Raḥīm. He is approximately twenty five years now.Ishan ‘Ayd Muḥammad b. Niyyāz was born in the village Qomārāv of the Tobol’sk governorate in 1786 г. He studied in Bukhara the Noble, where he entered ṭarīqat. After return back he taught for several years. He died in 1844.

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/14а/ Muḥammad Shākir b. Muḥammad Bāqī became an Imam in the city of Tobol’sk in 1873. He studied with Mulla ‘Imad ad-Dīn in the village of Mānchil near Tiumen’ and also half a year in the village of Alman in Cheliabinsk district. He was satisfied with this [education]. On the Holy Ramaḍān of 1890, at night, when a quarter guard Ṭāsh Muḥammad Qul-Muḥammadūf entered an ordinary house performing his police duty, Mulla Muḥammad Shākir was drinking wine there. He rose to his feet and threatened Qul-Muḥammadūf: “Why did not you go to the tarawīḥ prayer, why are you hiding here?” His opponent got struck, though he has a right to quarrel with the Imam!!!

/14b/ Among the Tara merchants in the Tobolsk region a Bukharan Niyyāz b. ‘Aytuka was a honourable person, worthy of gratitude. This person was very influential and he loved scholars. In 1820 he decided to perform the duty of pilgrimage and went to Hijaz. His two-year passport is still preserved in a frame on the wall of his heirs’ house. He studied the recitation of Qur’an (qira’at) for six month in Cairo. After his return he used to spent time studying the science of recitation between [the prayers] al-‘aṣr and al-maghrib. He was so influential in the local government that once he even fired a mayor of Tara, after inviting him to the court. Everybody from the lower part of the city of Tara, be it Russian or Muslim, was permitted to ride on his cab. He donated

Mulla Sa‘d al-Dīn b. Bayān Khwāja was born in village Qomārāv of the Tobol’sk governorate on 13 Janu-ary 1844. He studied in Ṭārā with the same damullā Raḥmat Allāh b. Mulla Yūsuf Ṭanbāwī. He received a license (ukaz) in [18]71 and is currently teaching and carrying out Imamat in the village of Qullār of the Kūrālskū volost of the Tobol’sk governorate. He is alive.‘Abd al-Khāliq b. Sharāf is in the village of Bīk in the Wāghāy volost of the Tobol’sk governorate.‘Abd Allāh b. Raḥīm Qūl b. Avnāk is in village Qomārāv of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate. There is no register with his birth data. He studied in the school Mir ‘Arab with Ishan Niyyāz Qūl Turkmānī ḥaḍrat. He accepted ṭarīqa from the hands of great masters. After his return to Qomārāv he was busy with teaching. He went to visit (ziyyārat) the sacred tombs in China and saw either in a dream or during murāqaba Khwāja-yi Bahā’ al-Dīn ḥaḍrat, who hold his right hand and said: “You do not have a permission to go back.” I have heard this from his companions and much later I have also seen his letters. I do not know who possesses them now.Mulla Fakhr al-Dīn b. Yārlïqāsh was in the village Wāghāy of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate. There is not register with his date of birth, but he studied for several years in the village Mīryām Qullār of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate at the school of Mulla Sabānchī b. Yār Muḥammad. Later, in the times of Mufti ‘Abd al-Wāḥid he received a license (ukaz). During fifty years he was an Imam in the vil-lage of Wāghāy. He died on 25 May 1895, when he was 88 years old and was buried in the Wāghāy village.Mulla Nu‘mān b. Tulū Muḥammad was in the village of Qïzīl Bāy of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate. There is no register with his birth date, but he went to Qāzān and studied in Qïshqār with damullā Ismā‘īl b. Mūsā. Then he served as a teacher, Imam and akhūnd for several years. He died on 20 December 1892 and was buried on the cemetery of the village Qïzīl Bāy.Muḥammadī b. Qāsim was in the village Yūrshāq the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate.His date of birth is also unknown, but he went to Qāzān and studied in Machqara with ‘Abd Allāh b. Yāḥyā al-Charṭūshī ḥaḍrat. He was among five oldest students. After that he carried out and taught for several years in the village of Yūrshāq. He died on 10 November 1869, when he was 58 years old and was buried in the village of Yūrshāq.Mulla Abū Sa‘īd b. ‘Awwas Bāqī was born in the village Ishāy of the Tobol’sk district of Tobol’sk governorate on 2 February 1866. He went to Qāzān and studied for eight years in the Qashqar school with damullā Ismā‘īl b. Mūsā ḥaḍrat. Then he returned back to the Tobol’sk governorate and now he is an Imam and teacher in this city [Tobol’sk].This was written on the basis of research and analysis by Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl b. Niyyāz b. Raḥīm Qūl b. Avnāk, an Imam and akhūnd of Qomārāv. On 1 September [18]95 I have finished my research” [8, ff. 2ab].


to Imams and teachers thirty thousand Rubles in cash and placed it as a charitable endowment. Now scholars are still living on this money. He left four sons and three daughters. His elderly son ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ b. Niyyāz Aytīkīn was a well-educated man. He possessed a state suit (mundir) and a medal (orden). The second son, Raḥmat Allāh b. Niyyāz Aytīkīn75, has recently opened an Uspenskii paper fabric. The third son Naṣir al-Dīn b. Niyyāz Aydīkīn for a while used to have shipping industry on the Irtysh River. Later he visited famous European cities in France and Switzerland. In 1880 he went to hajj and then died in Tara, when he was fifty three years old, in June 1894. He left two sons.

75 | See his photographic portrait in figure 1 attached to this article.

72 1/2014

Figure 1. A photographic portrait of Raḥmat Allāh b. Niyyāz Aytīkīn taken in 1905. From the private archive of F.T-A. Valeev (Kazan’)


Figure 2. A collective portrait of the Aitikin family taken in the early 20th century. From the private archive of F.T.-A. Valeev (Kazan’)

74 1/2014

Figure 3. An astrolabe of Dawlat Bāqī b. ‘Alī Aṣġar, Isfahan, 17th century. Now preserved at the Tobol’sk State Historical and Architectural Museum,

no. 16501. The photo is taken by Sergei Zhdanovskii.


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Rizaetdina Fakhrutdinova. Opis’ 1. Ed. khr. 10 staryi akt. Riza Fekhretdinov. Quliazmalar

majmughahe. 10-sı tom (1885–1894), ff. 8–17.

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Fakhretdinovich (1859–1936). Opis’ 1. Delo no. 4. Asar. Varianty. Opisaniia biografii

tatarskikh deiatelei odnogo uchrezhdeniia ili odnogo areala. 1811–1906 gg. Tetrad’ no. 3.

Zapisi biografii dukhovnykh lits Tobol’skoi gubernii. 14 ff.

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unter russischer Herrschaft (Berlin, 1998).

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6. I.V. Belich, A.K. Bustanov, “Astroliabiia iz Isfakhana,” in: N.A. Tomilov et al. (eds.),

Etnicheskaia istoriia i kul’tura tiurkskikh narodov Evrazii (Omsk, 2011), 185–187.

7. A.K. Bustanov, Knizhnaia kul’tura sibirskikh musul’man (Moskva, 2013).

8. Arkhiv vostokovedov Instituta vostochnykh rukopisei RAN, F. 131, Op. 1, D. № 5. A Letter of

Imam Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl to Riḍā ad-Dīn b. Fakhr ad-Dīn. 2 ff.

9. Komatsu Hisao, “Muslim Intellectuals and Japan. A Pan-Islamist Mediator, Abdurreshid

Ibrahim,” in: Stephane A. Dudoignon, Komatsu Hisao, and Kosugi Yasushi (eds.),

Intellectuals in the Modern Islamic World: Transmission, Transformation, Communication

(London and New York: Routledge, 2006).

10. A.G. Seleznev, I.A. Selezneva, I.V. Belich, Kul’t sviatykh v sibirskom islame: spetsifika

universal’nogo (Moskva, 2009).

11. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar, 1 tom (Kazan: Rukhiiat, 2006).

12. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar. 3 häm 4 tomnar (Kazan: Rukhaniiat, 2010).

13. N.G. Garaeva, “Stareishii spisok Korana v sobranii Nauchnoi biblioteki im. N.I.

Lobachevskogo Kazanskogo (Privolzhskogo) Federal’nogo Universiteta,” in: R.F. Islamov,

S.F. Galimov (eds.) Vostochnye rukopisi: sovremennoe sostoianie i perspektivy izucheniia

(Kazan’, 2011), pp. 93–105.

14. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar, 2 tom (Kazan: Rukhiiat, 2009)

15. Murād al-Ramzi. Talfīq al-akhbār wa talqīḥ al-āthār fī waqā‘ī Qazān wa Bulġār wa mulūk al-

Tatār (Orenburg, 1908).

16. G. Ibrahimov, Tärjemäi hälem iaki Bashyma kilgännär (Kazan: Iman, 2001)

76 1/2014

17. A.K. Bustanov, S.N. Korusenko “Rodoslovnye sibirskikh bukhartsev: Im’iaminovy,” in:

Arkheologiia, etnografiia i antropologiia Evrazii. 2010/ 2 (42), 97–105.

18. A. Bustanov, “The Sacred Texts of Siberian Khwāja Families: the Descendants of Sayyid

Ata,” in: Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, 2 (1), 70–99.

19. U.A. Sultonov, Muhammad Solikhkhudzha va uning “Tarikhi zhadidaii Toshkand” asari

(Toshkent, 2009).

20. F.T.-A. Valeev, Sibirskie bukhartsy vo vtoroi polovine XIX — nachale XX v. (istoriko-

etnograficheskii ocherk). Dissertatsiia na soiskanie uchenoi stepeni kandidata

istoricheskikh nauk (Tashkent, 1965).

21. I. Türkoğlu, Sibiryalı Seyyah Abdürreşid Ibrahim (Ankara, 1997).

22. Gabderäshit Ibrahim: fänni-biografik zhyentyk, ed. by M. Gosmanov, F. Galimullin (Kazan:

Zhyen, 2011).

23. A.K. Bustanov, “Sufiiskie legendy ob islamizatsii Sibiri,” in: Tiurkologicheskii sbornik 2009–

2010 (Moskva: Vostochnaia literatura, 2011).


Fakhretdinovich (1859–1936), Op.1, D. 7. Rodoslovnye otdel’nykh familii.

25. N.A. Tomilov, Tiurkoiazychnoe naselenie Zapadno-Sibirskoi ravniny v kontse XVI — pervoi

chetverti XIX vv. (Tomsk, 1981).

26. N.A. Tomilov, Etnicheskaia istoriia tiurkoiazychnogo naseleniia Zapadno-Sibirskoi ravniny

kontsa XVI — nachala XX vv. (Novosibirsk, 1992).

27. R. Bekkin, “Russian Muslims: A Misguided Sect, or the Vanguard of the Russian Umma?”,

in: A. Bustanov, M. Kemper, Islamic Authority and the Russian Language: Studies on Texts

from European Russia, the North Caucasus and West Siberia (Amsterdam: Pegasus, 2012),

361–401.

28. ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm. A Diary from Böğrüdelik. Introduction, Facsimile and the Typed

Arabic texts by Alfrid Bustanov; the Modern Tatar Translation by Daniiar Gyilmetdinov (Kazan’,

2013). 190 p.

29. Ta’rikh al-Bukhara (sic!) wa tarjamat al-‘ulama’ (Orenburg, 1908). 40 p.


Словарь биографий мусульманских ученых Сибири, составленный ‘Абд ар-Рашидом Ибрахимом

Аннотация: В статье представлены факсимиле и комментированные анг-лийские переводы двух версий сборника биографий мусульманских ученых Сибири. Этот труд был написан ‘Абд ар-Рашидом Ибрахимом (Ибрагимо-вым), и заслуживает серьезного внимания ученых, поскольку открывает для нас мир интеллектуальной жизни мусульман Западной Сибири, практически неизвестный до сих пор. Источники предоставляют нам информацию о мест-ных богословах, работавших в XVIII–XIX вв., об их интересах, образовании, социальных связях и спорах на религиозные темы. Все это позволяет говорить о довольном развитом исламском дискурсе в Западной Сибири того времени.

Ключевые слова: ‘Абд ар-Рашид Ибрахим, биографии исламских ученых, ис-ламский дискурс, ислам в Сибири, ислам в России, сибирские татары, татарс-кая рукописная традиция, Риза ад-Дин б. Фахр ад-Дин.

Литература:

1. Nauchnyi arkhiv Ufimskogo Nauchnogo Tsentra, F. 7. Lichnyi fond uchenogo vostokoveda

Rizaetdina Fakhrutdinova. Opis’ 1. Ed. khr. 10 staryi akt. Riza Fekhretdinov. Quliazmalar

majmughahe. 10-sı tom (1885–1894), ff. 8–17.


Fakhretdinovich (1859–1936). Opis’ 1. Delo no. 4. Asar. Varianty. Opisaniia biografii

tatarskikh deiatelei odnogo uchrezhdeniia ili odnogo areala. 1811–1906 gg. Tetrad’ no. 3.

Zapisi biografii dukhovnykh lits Tobol’skoi gubernii. 14 ff.

3. M. Kemper, Sufis und Gelehrte in Tatarien und Bashkirien, 1789–1889. Der islamische Diskurs

unter russischer Herrschaft (Berlin, 1998).

4. G. Idiiatullina, Abu-n-Nasr Kursavi (Kazan’, 2005).

5. Abu-n-Nasr Kursavi, Nastavlenie liudei na put’ istiny [ed. by G. Idiiatullina] (Kazan’, 2005).

6. I.V. Belich, A.K. Bustanov, “Astroliabiia iz Isfakhana,” in: N.A. Tomilov et al. (eds.),

Etnicheskaia istoriia i kul’tura tiurkskikh narodov Evrazii (Omsk, 2011), 185–187.

7. A.K. Bustanov, Knizhnaia kul’tura sibirskikh musul’man (Moskva, 2013).

8. Arkhiv vostokovedov Instituta vostochnykh rukopisei RAN, F. 131, Op. 1, D. № 5. A Letter of

Imam Mu‘taṣim b. Bilāl to Riḍā ad-Dīn b. Fakhr ad-Dīn. 2 ff.

9. Komatsu Hisao, “Muslim Intellectuals and Japan. A Pan-Islamist Mediator, Abdurreshid

Ibrahim,” in: Stephane A. Dudoignon, Komatsu Hisao, and Kosugi Yasushi (eds.),

Intellectuals in the Modern Islamic World: Transmission, Transformation, Communication

(London and New York: Routledge, 2006).

10. A.G. Seleznev, I.A. Selezneva, I.V. Belich, Kul’t sviatykh v sibirskom islame: spetsifika

universal’nogo (Moskva, 2009).

11. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar, 1 tom (Kazan: Rukhiiat, 2006).

12. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar. 3 häm 4 tomnar (Kazan: Rukhaniiat, 2010).

78 1/2014

13. N.G. Garaeva, “Stareishii spisok Korana v sobranii Nauchnoi biblioteki im. N.I.

Lobachevskogo Kazanskogo (Privolzhskogo) Federal’nogo Universiteta,” in: R.F. Islamov,

S.F. Galimov (eds.) Vostochnye rukopisi: sovremennoe sostoianie i perspektivy izucheniia

(Kazan’, 2011), pp. 93–105.

14. Fäkhreddin Rizaeddin, Asar, 2 tom (Kazan: Rukhiiat, 2009)

15. Murād al-Ramzi. Talfīq al-akhbār wa talqīḥ al-āthār fī waqā‘ī Qazān wa Bulġār wa mulūk al-

Tatār (Orenburg, 1908).

16. G. Ibrahimov, Tärjemäi hälem iaki Bashyma kilgännär (Kazan: Iman, 2001)

17. A.K. Bustanov, S.N. Korusenko “Rodoslovnye sibirskikh bukhartsev: Im’iaminovy,” in:

Arkheologiia, etnografiia i antropologiia Evrazii. 2010/ 2 (42), 97–105.

18. A. Bustanov, “The Sacred Texts of Siberian Khwāja Families: the Descendants of Sayyid

Ata,” in: Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, 2 (1), 70–99.

19. U.A. Sultonov, Muhammad Solikhkhudzha va uning “Tarikhi zhadidaii Toshkand” asari

(Toshkent, 2009).

20. F.T.-A. Valeev, Sibirskie bukhartsy vo vtoroi polovine XIX — nachale XX v. (istoriko-

etnograficheskii ocherk). Dissertatsiia na soiskanie uchenoi stepeni kandidata

istoricheskikh nauk (Tashkent, 1965).

21. I. Türkoğlu, Sibiryalı Seyyah Abdürreşid Ibrahim (Ankara, 1997).

22. Gabderäshit Ibrahim: fänni-biografik zhyentyk, ed. by M. Gosmanov, F. Galimullin (Kazan:

Zhyen, 2011).

23. A.K. Bustanov, “Sufiiskie legendy ob islamizatsii Sibiri,” in: Tiurkologicheskii sbornik 2009–

2010 (Moskva: Vostochnaia literatura, 2011).


Fakhretdinovich (1859–1936), Op.1, D. 7. Rodoslovnye otdel’nykh familii.

25. N.A. Tomilov, Tiurkoiazychnoe naselenie Zapadno-Sibirskoi ravniny v kontse XVI — pervoi

chetverti XIX vv. (Tomsk, 1981).

26. N.A. Tomilov, Etnicheskaia istoriia tiurkoiazychnogo naseleniia Zapadno-Sibirskoi ravniny

kontsa XVI — nachala XX vv. (Novosibirsk, 1992).

27. R. Bekkin, “Russian Muslims: A Misguided Sect, or the Vanguard of the Russian Umma?”,

in: A. Bustanov, M. Kemper, Islamic Authority and the Russian Language: Studies on Texts

from European Russia, the North Caucasus and West Siberia (Amsterdam: Pegasus, 2012),

361–401.

28. ‘Abd al-Rashīd Ibrāhīm. A Diary from Böğrüdelik. Introduction, Facsimile and the Typed

Arabic texts by Alfrid Bustanov; the Modern Tatar Translation by Daniiar Gyilmetdinov (Kazan’,

2013). 190 p.

29. Ta’rikh al-Bukhara (sic!) wa tarjamat al-‘ulama’ (Orenburg, 1908). 40 p.

Бустанов Альфрид Кашшафович, Ph.D., профессор ТАИФ по истории исламских народов России в Европейском университете (г. Санкт-Петербург), библиотекарь Во-сточного сектора Отдела рукописей и редких книг Научной библиотеки Казанского фе-дерального университета (г. Казань, Россия)

E-mail: [email protected]